& i'm back! only a month later...

so i took a much needed break from just about everything over the Christmas holidays, and then extended it over 'till about now. but that doesn't mean i didn't do my nails many a time! so i've built up a little stack to show you all.

i've also decided to make a few changes in the blog;
less swatching, more art. gotta get back to what i actually enjoy doing!
& i hate capitalization. i started this blog thinking if i capitalized properly and whatnot that it would seem more professional, but that's not me & i want this to be casual fun for me.

that being said, onto what i think was my favorite mani of 2012!

this is Barry M Blue Moon! i took the plunge and recently bought a couple Barry M polishes & i am not regretting it. i love pastels and this color was great. this is 3 coats (+ a coat of China Glaze Ghoulish Glow, i went out that night and thought it would be neat).

then i added some fun gold square studs i purchased from ebay. some of these turned a little bronze-y in color after topcoat? you can kinda tell, top stud on my ring finger was the worst. but i didn't mind.

this was awesome and didn't chip for like 5 days, which is top notch when it comes to me (i can never make it last). Barry M polishes will definitely have to make their way into my collection more often!

Nail Art Inspired By A Polish Box!

So after swatching all of my new Lime Crimes, I wanted to do some funky art! I was looking around for inspiration and I spotted one of my polish boxes.

So hey, why not! Here is some art over Lime Crime Milky Ways.

Here's a shot of my nails over the box, so you can see the design. A cute black & white flower box. I think this is from Ikea or something, but it's one of my many boxes I keep polish in (I need a better storage system)

And here are the close-ups! As you can see I have a better handle on my camera now. I chose different flower designs on the box to create on my nails and this is what I came up with! Pretty neat, huh?

I like my thumb the best! I thought this was a fun way to keep the color from yesterday on my nails, but do something fun with it! I used an eBay nail art pen to do the designs.

Inspiration from the things around you can definitely create some of the best manis!

Lime Crime Les Desserts D'Antoinette Swatch & Review - Part 2!

Here are the last 3 polishes from the "Les Desserts D'Antoinette" collection! Yesterday I started with the warmer colors and now here are the cooler colors. I was most excited to check these last 3 out.

Excuse the blurry photos again, still getting used to my new camera. This is Lime Crime Once In A Blue Mousse. This is almost an exact dupe for China Glaze For Audrey, so it you have For Audrey, you probably don't need this. It is beautiful though. A pastel tiffany blue that applies nicely in 2 coats.

This is another favorite of mine from the collection! Lime Crime Lavendairy is a pastel lilac polish that also covers beautifully in 2 coats. Close to OPI Do You Lilac It? but a little brighter.  I love pastel purples so this is one I'll be happy to add to my collection.

And last but not least, my favorite out of the whole collection! Lime Crime Milky Ways is a light cream polish. You could also call it ivory. This is 3 coats, which I found was necessary for full opacity. But I'm not complaining! It's not chalky, which is hard to come by when searching for white or off-white polishes. Very nice!

I saved Milky Ways for last, so I could do some funky nail art on this color! I will post that tomorrow!

Again, you can purchase Lime Crime on Harlow & Co for all you Canadian ladies, and check out Lime Crime's site for American shipping and their other cosmetics!

Lime Crime Les Desserts D'Antoinette Swatches & Review!

As soon as I saw Lime Crime's polishes I just had to have them. I love pastels and these are almost like neon pastels. Right up my alley!

I will post swatches of half the collection today!

The collection was inspired by "confectionary delights from Marie Antoinette's table." Lime Crime promises the polishes to be opaque in 2 coats, being intensely pigmented. The bottles also come with a wide brush for control.

Here's a photo of the "Les Desserts d'Antoinette" collection on my messy nail table. It consists of 7 pastel polishes; pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple & cream. The cream color caught my eye first. I love me some off-white.

Excuse the blurry photos. I'm just getting used to my new camera and for some reason decided to take these in my dark basement. This is 2 coats Lime Crime Parfait Day. It's a pastel baby pink creme that applies really nicely. The formula on this one was great.

This is 3 coats of Lime Crime Peaches & Cream. It is a pastel orange with almost a neon quality to it. I decided to use 3 coats with this one to cover a little bit of streakiness. Since I paint fairly thin coats, you could probably get away with 2 thicker ones.

The brightest of the bunch! This is Lime Crime Creme De Limon. I used 3 coats for this one as well. It's a bright lemon color, not as much pastel as the other colors. It's also a little chalkier than the rest, which is also a fear I have with pastel shades.

And the last for today, Lime Crime Pastelchio (What a cute name!). This is 2 coats of the pastel green polish. This one also has a neon quality to it. It is definitely reminiscent of a pistachio. This is one of my favorites! I'm a sucker for greens.

I have the last 3 polishes to show you tomorrow! This collection was well worth buying. I purchased it off of Harlow & Co (for all my Canadian followers!), but Lime Crime's site also offers shipping to the States.
Lime Crime also offers other cosmetics! Check them out!